I’m still waiting for the NY Times to abandon using fossil fuels to gather, create, and distribute their version of the news, particularly the paper editions. And turn the heat down to 60 during the cold weather. And only use solar and wind for their giant building
New Year’s Resolutions for the Planet
I finally want to join a climate action group. Lisa Burghardt, Germany
- I plan on planting 50 trees in my childhood home in Croix-Des-Bouquets, Haiti, this coming year. Josette Teneus, Massachusetts
- My next vehicle purchase will be an electric car. Jamie Wertz, Virginia
Those are three that start out this piece. I’m wondering if Josetta plans on taking a fossil fueled trip to Haiti to plant them, or just paying Someone Else to do the work? And seriously, is joining a group actually Doing Something?
In December, we asked the readers of our newsletter Climate Fwd: and our Twitter followers what they were planning on doing differently in 2021. We got some amazing responses. If you’re thinking of making a “green†New Year’s resolution, here are a few ideas, collected from those replies.
Get involved in your community.
Self-improvement is a classic theme of New Year’s resolutions. But to improve the planet, collective action is important. And the best thing you can do is get involved. At the national and state level, that means voting, for starters. And locally, it means helping to make changes in your community: in schools, in local groups or at the town hall.
And people wrote
- My goal this year is to WRITE MY LEGISLATORS!!! This is an important year to help influence policy.
- Engage with local educators and support curricula that broaden awareness of climate change and its mitigation.
- Writing letters for the Sierra Club to support climate change legislation and candidates who are committed to working on climate change.
- Spread awareness to everyone I meet about the harmful effects of animal products on our climate, which requires collective change starting from us.
So, not doing a damned thing to change your own life?
Travel differently. (Or just less.)
Transportation is a big part of nearly everyone’s carbon footprint, whether it’s the daily commute or that vacation flight. Personal and commercial transportation is the United States’ biggest contributor to greenhouse gases, at about 28 percent of the total.
Says the company which uses lots of fossil fuels and has a, get this, travel section.
- Exploring the options of traveling by ship to replace planes.
- I bought myself a bike light on Black Friday so I can bike and walk more often.
- I resolve not to travel, by air, for pleasure only, in the coming years.
Buying the bike is nice, but, like the other three it is only a pledge, not really an action. “Exploring”. “In the coming years.” So, not right now.
There are two more sections, one on electricity and little things at home, and no one is offering to really do anything substantial, and no one is saying they are doing these things now. Surprise?
Or let the “invisible hand” go to work by enacting a carbon tax to add the cost of negative externalities associated with fossil fuel use.
There is nothing invisible about the heavy hand of government taxes to discourage one behaviour and encourage others. It’s just the same old socialists getting rich by transferring wealth from everyone to themselves and their insider connected friends.
But that’s just it, Professor: taxes placed on corporations are invisible, at least to most people. Most Americans are too ignorant of economics to realize that corporations pay no taxes at all. Rather, they simply collect taxes from their customers, and then the sheeple bleat, “Why is everything so expensive these days?”
The “invisible hand” refers to market forces of capitalism. h/t Adam Smith
Non-CO2 emitting energy sources are already competing with fossil fuels even with the indirect subsidies awarded to fossil fuels (cue Jil).
It’s only fair and responsible that consumers of fossil fuels pay the true costs, right?
Elwood — How would your personal expenses go up if gasoline went to $8/gallon? How about if heating oil went to $6/gallon? What about diesel fuel? If it tripled in price, would that affect the price of things trucked to your local supermarket?, (yes).
“Planting treesâ€. That’s good, but why not discourage at the same time bio-fuel and wind power use, which together cut down millions of trees yearly? “Enact a carbon tax..â€. What negative externalities? Plus, fossil fuels are already taxed- ever notice when you buy gas the info showing what the federal and state gas tax is? And the same with aviation fuel
“Plus, fossil fuels are already taxed- ever notice when you buy gas the info showing what the federal and state gas tax is? And the same with aviation fuel”
Ahh, but you forget Ronald Reagan’ famous quote about liberals (holds even truer with today’s leftists): “Liberals believe if it moves tax it, if it keeps moving regulate it and if it stops moving subsidize it.”
What negative externalities?
Asthma, COPD, smog, oil spills, cancer, water pollution, drilling and mining impacts on environment and wildlife, acid rain, heavy metal poisoning, mercury accumulation, thermal pollution… not to mention the negative impacts of CO2 and methane – global warming, ocean acidification, rising sea levels, changes in animal and plant distributions, human migration, wildfires, damaging hurricanes ..
These societal costs are not covered by the price of fossil fuels. Medicare/Medicaid/insurance covers some of the costs. Government “clean-ups” (oil spills, leaks) covers some costs. Government construction (seawalls, etc) cover some. Who pays for environmental degradations?
ALL forms of energy production have negative effects, but renewables have less of an impact.
So you’re completely stopped using fossil fuels, right?
You got me!!! I haven’t, why do you ask?
Do you think the objective is to get everyone to stop all use of fossil fuels today? Or do you use this question as a shillelagh to whack opponents?
Anyway, arguing with conservatives always involves defusing the “Argument of Perfection” fallacy.
So if a “warmist” lifestyle emits only 10% as much CO2 as a denier, have they failed? Are they a hypocrite?
It’s similar to asking a connie since they oppose gov’t spending if they refuse to use gov’t roads, Medicaid, Medicare, jobless benefits, FDA approved drugs, Social Security, safe water and air etc?
See the fallacy in your “argument”?
Well, fuel pumps used to catty a sticker telling customers how much they are being taxed per gallon, but I never saw them in Pennsylvania, and I don’t see them in the Bluegrass State, either. The past place I saw one was in West Virginia.